Antimachos II, 174-165 BC, Drachm

Antimachos II, drachm, AR, reign 174–165 BC, uncertain mint, 2.23 g, 16 mm. Obverse with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOΡOΥ ANTIMAXOΥ around a diademed royal portrait of Antimachos II right. Reverse with Kharoshthi legend Maharajasa jayadharasa Amtimakasa within the standard Indo-Greek drachm type, the bilingual epigraphy arranged to match the Greek obverse titulature. Well-centered legends with clear bilingual reading; light circulation wear consistent with the issue. Bopearachchi 1A.

Antimachos II belongs to the Indo-Greek dynasties that ruled parts of Bactria and the northwestern Indian subcontinent in the mid-2nd century BC. His coinage is significant for its systematic bilingual format, pairing Greek royal titles with Kharoshthi equivalents, reflecting the administrative and commercial need to communicate authority across Greek- and Prakrit-speaking populations. The use of “Nikephoros” and its corresponding Indian royal epithets illustrates the adoption and translation of Hellenistic kingship concepts in a multicultural frontier environment.